After emerging from the 2008 financial crisis relatively unscathed, Brazil's inevitable entrance into the club of major global powers is increasingly accepted. CFR's Stewart M. Patrick and Carlos Simonsen Leal of the Brazilian Getulio Vargas Foundation discuss Brazil's perspective on global finance and international security.

CFR's Sheila Smith highlights the significance of the U.S.-Japan Summit as the first state visit by the Democratic Party's Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, which features a broad agenda and comes at a time when both Prime Minister Noda and President Obama face political challenges domestically.

Transition 2012

Civil liberties will present the winner of the 2012 U.S. presidential elections with challenges related to counterterrorism powers and practices, as well as challenges related to privacy rights, says CFR's Matthew C. Waxman.

As U.S. and European leaders prepare for the NATO summit in May, CFR's Stewart M. Patrick and Chatham House Director Robin Niblett discuss why the alliance will remain important for Europe and the United States after NATO withdraws from Afghanistan.

Following the first round of France's presidential election, CFR's Charles A. Kupchan discusses NicolasSarkozy's chances and the potential impact of a Francois Hollande win on transatlantic ties and the eurozone crisis.

In the wake of the debate over electing a non-American president of the World Bank, CFR's Stewart Patrick and Thierry de Montbrial of the French Institute for International Relations discuss the challenges of reforming global institutions to include emerging powers.

CFR's James M. Lindsay remembers President Harry Truman's announcement on April 11, 1951, that he had dismissed General Douglas MacArthur as commanding general of U.S. forces in Korea, and discusses the principle of civilian control of the military.

Transition 2012

The winner of the 2012 U.S. presidential election will have to address shifting priorities and maintain the relevancy and impact of U.S. foreign aid as government assistance is dwarfed by other forms of capital flows and new donor countries emerge, says CFR's Isobel Coleman.

CFR's James M. Lindsay remembers the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, DC, on April 4, 1949, and discusses the difficulty inherent in pursuing fundamental changes to a nation's foreign policy.

Transition 2012

The winner of the 2012 U.S. presidential election must be prepared to deal with a potential reemerging crisis between India and Pakistan, engage with India over its relations with Iran and interests in Afghanistan, and face an upcoming leadership transition in the country, says CFR's Daniel Markey.

This week's Arab League Summit in Baghdad presents questions about the organization's role in a changed Middle East, the durability of Assad's regime in Syria, and Iraq's security and regional ties, says CFR's Ned Parker.

Transition 2012

The winner of the 2012 U.S. presidential election will have to determine the scope of defense policy ambitions under strong pressure to restore domestic economic solvency, which will "overshadow" policy questions, says CFR's Richard K. Betts.

CFR's James M. Lindsay remembers the sarin gas attack on Tokyo's subway on March 20, 1995 by a religious cult, and discusses how technological advances increasingly mean that governments are no longer the only ones capable of inflicting mass destruction.

Transition 2012

The winner of the 2012 presidential election will continue to rely on the UN as a foreign policy tool to serve U.S. interests, but navigating the U.S.-UN relationshipwill be one of the president's biggest foreign policy challenges, says CFR's Stewart M. Patrick.

A second tier of middle-income powers is emerging beyond the BRICS alliance of Brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa. CFR's Stewart M. Patrick discusseshow these countries complicate traditional conceptions of East vs. West and developed vs. developing nations.

CFR's James M. Lindsay remembers Adolf Hitler's announcement in 1935 that he would reintroduce conscription in Germany, and discusses instances when a country should be confronted rather than accommodated.